A POLICE watchdog has criticised the "unacceptable death toll" caused by police vehicle chases - and revealed that almost one in four pursuits in Wales end in a collision.

A POLICE watchdog has criticised the "unacceptable death toll" caused by police vehicle chases - and revealed that almost one in four pursuits in Wales end in a collision.

Sir Alistair Graham, chairman of the Police Complaints Authority, also raised questions about tactics and training in a report focusing on Welsh forces launched yesterday.

Welsh police forces have pledged to take into consideration the report's recommendations, along with guidelines provided yesterday by the Association of Chief Police Officers.

But the situation is complicated because longer, faster chases result in more arrests, according to the PCA's Police Pursuits in Wales report.

In a complementary report taking in all forces across England and Wales, Sir Alistair highlighted that between 2001 and 2002, more than 1% of all traffic deaths involved the police.

Sir Alistair said the death toll was too high, the training often too sparse, and many pursuits were started with no idea of how they might finish. Many ended in a collision or with the pursued vehicle getting away.

A spokesman for the police in Wales said, "The four Welsh forces are determined to ensure that they continue to provide the highest possible standards of professional service to the public.

"There is an operational need to be able to pursue offenders when the circumstances dictate it to be appropriate.

"All forces are absolutely determined that the level of risk involved in such situations is minimised as far as possible."

But the report, compiled over the last year, raises "worrying" concerns about inconsistencies in training of Welsh officers involved in pursuits, and the amount of time that is allowed to pass before training is refreshed.

Contrary to official guidance, 21 pursuits in Wales were undertaken by standard trained drivers - and four by drivers with only basic training.

"It is essential that there is good training for both drivers and traffic controllers; that there should be regular reassessment of their skills," said Sir Alistair yesterday.

But one Welsh officer had not had refresher training in driving since 1978, and 5.6% of drivers involved in pursuits had only received basic level training.

The report says, "It is worrying that 21 incidents classified as pursuits were undertaken by drivers trained only to standard or basic level, a situation that should only occur in the gravest of circumstances."

The risk was increased by lack of planning in the majority of incidents - in only 44.2% of the incidents assessed was there a plan for bringing about a safe resolution, most commonly involving either the use of the Stinger tyre deflation device or a police helicopter.

In total, 344 incidents were examined by the PCA over the one year study, which covered the four Welsh forces in Gwent, Dyfed-Powys, North Wales and South Wales.

There were a total of 78 incidents (22.7%) that ended in a collision. These resulted in 48 injuries and one fatality.

The highest injury rate per incident was in North Wales where there was an average of 0.37 injuries per incident - but the greatest average number of arrests per incident was also recorded in North Wales.

In contrast, the lowest number of arrests was in South Wales where over half of the 344 pursuits took place.

Overall, arrests were made in just over 40% of incidents.

Father was killed in crash with car being chased by police

THE WELSH man who died during a police pursuit last year was a teenage driver coming home from work.

Phillip Welsh, 19, was killed when his car was in collision with another vehicle, being pursued by the police, on the A487 in Ceredigion.

Hotel chef Mr Welsh, from Pentregat, Llandysul, was returning from work to his wife Nicky and newborn baby William when the late-night collision happened last July.

Nicky's family said yesterday they were distraught and did not wish to comment until after the inquest, scheduled for April.

Police said a Cardiff man has appeared in court charged with drink driving and motoring offences on that night.

A spokeswoman said, "David Llewelyn has been summoned to appear for driving with excess alcohol, without a licence, and without insurance as time limitations apply with these offences.